Combined school desk and chair.



E. G. WATKINS.

COMBINED SCHOOL DESK AND CHAiR.

APPLICATION FILED IUNE29. 1914.

1 ,1 89,32 1 Patented July 4, 1916.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD G. WATKINS, 0F GARDNER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASS-IGNOR T0 HEYWOOD BROTHERS AND WAKEFIELD COMPANY, OF GARDNER, MASSACHUSETTS, A COR- 7 PORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

COMBINED SCHOOL DESK AND CHAIR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 4:, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD G. WATKINS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gardner, in the county of Worcester and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in a Combined School Desk and Chair, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

The present invention relates to the construction of a combined school desk and chair, of the type adapted to be set up in rows of considerable length, and the invention is embodied in a structure in which the chair portion thereof is used in connection with the desk portion of the structure immediately in front, while the desk portion of each structure is used in connection with the chair portion of the structure immediately behind it in the row.

An object of the invention is to simplify and cheapen the construction of an article of the above character, and to renderthe seat, theseat back and desk top thereof readily detachable from the supporting side frames to admit of convenient packing and shipping. I V A further object is to provide an improved side frame construction in the manufacture of which it is practicable to employ bars of ordinary commercial shape.

A further object is to provide an improved construction for the supporting feet of said side frames whereby the exclusion of dust and dirt from the corners thereof is secured.

A further object is to provide a seat hinge of novel construction.

A further object is to improve the construction and to render more easy the manufacture of the curved built-up boards forming the seat and the seat back of the chair.

Other and further objects will .appear from the following description and claims, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of the combined school desk and chair forming my invention. Fig.- 2 is a vertical sectional view showing in detail the means for detachably securing the chair seat to the swinging member of the seat hinge, and showing said hinge with one cover. member removed. Fig. 3 is a detail view of one of the buttons used in securing the desk top, chair seat, and chair back to the side frames. Fig, l is a transverse sectional view of the seat hinge on line H, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view of one of the legs of the side frames, on a line adjacent the supporting foot of said leg. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view on line 6-6, Fig. 5. Figs. 7 and 8 are perspective views showing the improved method employed in the manufacture of the curved chair seat and chair back.

Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the different figures.

My improved school desk and chair comprlses a pair of spaced side frames, each of which consists of a number of suitably curved lengths of angle iron, riveted together and braced at appropriate points. The curved rear leg 1 and the vertical front leg 2 of each frame are connected by an arched member 3; an inclined member 4:, constituting the chair back support is connected by a brace 5 to the rear leg 1 and is riveted to the arched member 3. At its lower end said member 4 is turned upwardly and terminates adjacent the upper end of the front leg 2 to which it is secured as hereinafter set forth.

i The sides of the angle bars forming the front and rear legs are substantially at right angles to themselves to form integral fiat feet 7 and 6 respectively, which are preferably flanged, as shown at 8, Fig. 6, to space said feet slightly from the floor in order to secure an edge support for said legs and stiffen the same. Dust caps 9 of curved sheet metal, suitably shaped to fit the angle formed by the of said legs have integral ears 10 which are riveted respectively to each of the sides of the angle bars forming said legs, with their lower ends flush with the edges of the flanges- 8. Said dust caps thereby effectually inclose the corners at the lower ends of the legs and prevent the access of dust and dirt thereto, and they further stiffen the leg and enlarge the foot.

pressed outwardly sides A pair of substantially flat plates 11 and 12 laid face to face, and having opposed edge fl the stationarymember of the seat hinge of my invention, which is common to each side frame. I Each plate 11, Fig. 4, has a substantially central concaverecess 15, which is anges '13 and 14 respectively, form in the form of a spherical segment. A plate 16 disposed between the plates 11 and 12 and spaced from each of said plates by means of said flanges 13 and 1 1 has a concave recess 17 which registers with the recess 15, lying between the same and a similarly recessed portion 18 of the plate 12. A bearing on which the plate 16 is adapted to swing is thereby formed. Said plate 16 is formed with a curved slot 19 through which passes a rivet 20 which secures the plates 11 and 12 together, and by this means the plate 16 is prevented from shifting with respect to its bearing. A portion of the plate 16 which lies between the plates 11 and 12 is circular except for a segmental cut away portion at the ends of which the metal of the plate is flanged in the direction of the plate 11 to provide stops 21 with extended surfaces, adapted in either of the extreme positions of the plate to abut a leather or other suitable Washer 22 carried on another rivet 23.

The amount of angular movement allowed the plate 16 by the stops 21 is less than the angular extent of the slot 19, so that the ends of the latter cannot engage the rivet 20 and thereby bind or distort the same. The washer 22 serves also to lessen the noise andjar incident to a quick folding or unfolding of the seat. The plates 11 and 12 at their lower ends are joined by rivets 24 which also pass through the adjacent sides of the leg 2 and member 4:, thereby uniting the side frame construction. The upper end of each plate 16 has riveted thereto an angle bar 25, as shown in Fig. 2, said angle bars forming the sup ports for the detachable chair seat 26. To this end the fiat side of each angle bar 25 has riveted thereto an inverted frusto-conical button 27, near each end. The flat under side of the chair seat along each side thereof, has formed therein elongated recesses 28 to receive said buttons. At one end said recesses are made with straight walls to provide a chamber 29 of sufficient size to receive the larger end of the button. Said chambers 29 merge into chambers 30, Fig. 3, of the same width at their innermost portions as the chambers 29, but provided with undercut walls so that on the surface of the seat they are just wide enough to receive the shanks of the button.

In assembling the seat upon the bars, the larger ends of the recesses are fitted down upon the buttons and thereafter the seat is V moved in the direction of the arrow A,

Fig. 2, to carry the buttons into the undercut chambers 30, whereby to prevent direct withdrawal of the seat by lifting. Screws 31, one for each bar 25, are used to hold the seat in position; when it is desired to disassemble the chair, the simple removal of the screws and the sliding of the seat in the reverse direction is all that is required. The

chair back 32 is similarly secured to the inclined members 4, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1; and the desk top 33 is secured to the upper sides of the sheet metal desk sides 34: by similar interlocking buttons and by screws 35 uniting said top to the chair back 32.

In the manufacture of the curved built-up boards for the chair seat and chair back, it is proposed to secure greater economy of stock and ease of manufacture by the method hereinafter described. The usual practice in manufacturing seats and backs of this character involves the production of the several members of the pieced up seat or back, all of uniform width throughout. The edges of the several pieces are planed to such angles that when the pieces are joined along said edges, the desired curved surface may be cut or shaped from the completed pieced up board. By this process it will be noted that each piece must of necessity be used in its own particular place, and can be used in no other place; and furthermore, that there can be no devim tion by even the smallest margin in the required width of any piece, or in the angle to which the edge of any piece is planed, without changing the character of the curve which it is possible to produce in the pieced up board. Furthermore, each piece must be cut on a different angle from every other piece.

Obviously, the assembling of pieces of the above described character results in a great waste of stock, and requires much care in arranging and maintaining the pieces in proper order. Also, complicated and expensive machinery is required to accurately bevel the edges on which the pieces are joined to the required angles, and the process of gluing and joining the pieces together requires unusual care.

The method embodied in the present invention is clearly illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8, which illustrate respectively, the manner in which the separate pieces are joined, to form the board for the chair seat, and the completed chair seat formed from such a board, by passing the same through a shaping machine. The edges on which adjacent pieces are joined .are all made normal to the back surfaces of such pieces and all of such back surfaces are disposed in a common plane. No care need be'exercised in cutting each piece to any definite width, nor is it necessary to position any piece in a definite and fixed relation to another piece. However, if the stock which is being used varies some what in thickness as it runs, it is advantageous and economical to locate the thinner pieces of stock in positions where the curved seat or back is to'be the thinnest when finished, as shown in Fig. 7.

By the above described method, it will be apparent that practically all the stock, as it runs, can be utilized, thereby effecting a great economy. It will also be apparent that the square joint employed to connect the edges of the pieces simplifies to a great degree the process of joining. Furthermore, the task of quickly and rigidly securing the seat or back to its supporting member is rendered Very easy, owing to the plane surface of the back of the board.

I claim,

1. In an article of furniture, a side frame comprising a front leg angular in cross section, and presenting two of its surfaces respectively at the front and on the outer side of said frame, a rear leg angular in cross section and presenting two of its surfaces respectively at the rear and on the outerside of said frame, a seat back supporting member between said front and rear legs, and terminating above the lower ends thereof, said seat back supporting member being angular in cross section with one of its surfaces at the front of the frame, whereby a means of attachment for a seat back is afforded, and a connecting member extending between said front and rear legs and attached to the corresponding surfaces thereof which are presented on the outerside of the frame, saidconnecting member being rigidly igttached to said seat back supporting mem- 2. In an article of furniture, a side frame comprising front and rear legs which are angular in cross-section, a connecting member extending between said front and rear legs and attached to the corresponding surfaces thereof which lie in the plane of said connecting member, a seat back supporting member disposed between said front and rear legs and attached at its lowest point to said connecting member, and a brace con nected to said seat back supporting member and to one of said legs.

Dated this twenty-fifth day of June, 1914.

EDWARD G. WATKINS.

Witnesses:

THATCHER B. DUNN, FLORENCE L. MOORE.

30,1 of thil patent may be obtained for live cents each, by addrelsinz the Commissioner of Patents. 7

Washington, D. 0." 

